Top Programmatic Advertising Trends to Look for in 2024

We dug in with Brian Reese, our team lead who manages our client’s paid media campaigns, to hear what he’s seeing on the front lines and to get a better understanding of how these trends are affecting client campaigns.

Quick Overview of Programmatic Advertising in 2024

“Programmatic advertising is a very brand awareness-oriented approach that allows for great control over budget & impressions. We’re trying to get your name, logo, and message in front of the right people, at the right time, and for them to remember you and to know who you are.

Programmatic advertising allows for high levels of precision over ad placement & targeting, based on selected audience interests, behaviors, demographics, and more. This allows you to reach beyond the typical Google Search & Google Display Network, such as reaching audiences within their mobile apps or even on something like Hulu.

Learn More: How Programmatic Advertising Can Improve Your Marketing ROI

Something to be aware of, the average click-through rate (CTR) for programmatic is very low, close to 0.1%. This is why it’s focused on brand awareness, and different from a normal Google Ad (search-based) campaign that’s focused on leads.

That said, among companies who want to build awareness, programmatic ad spend is on the rise, up 15% over last year according to industry experts.”

What We’re Seeing in 2024 for Programmatic Advertising Trends

Privacy Updates Change Targeting Criteria

Reese shares, “Geofencing was a big part of why people would choose to use programmatic; however, with recent privacy control changes in the industry, we’re losing the ability to easily tell if an individual in the target audience that ever saw the ad ended up purchasing or not, which is leading to inconclusive data-driven results.”

What You Need to Know:

We know that privacy and AI advancements are making an impact on your advertising. Make sure your partner is being transparent with how it’s impacting your campaign and what they’re doing about it.

Attribution challenges mean you need to get creative with how you measure whether an ad is working or not.

A/B Testing is Everything

Reese weighs in on A/B testing with this to say, “A/B testing everything is incredibly important, for both content (creative & messaging) and the target audience itself. We all have our own thoughts & ideas of what’s going to work and what should work, but, strong results are achieved through data-based decisions.”

What You Need to Know:

Challenge who your target actually is by seeing what’s resonating through A/B testing.

Mobile First

According to GlobalStats’s StatCounter mobile market share is 59.57%. Meaning, over 50% of your audience is accessing the web via their mobile phones. You want to reach your audience where they are, so optimizing your programmatic advertising campaigns for mobile is crucial for your campaign’s success.

What You Need to Know:

Your programmatic campaigns should follow a mobile-first approach to get optimal reach.

Cross-Device Targeting

We know that audiences still favor mobile-first, but that doesn’t mean that’s where they stay. Audiences will go from their phone to the TV, to the computer, to their tablet, and back to their phone. Cross-device targeting ensures that your ads reach users across different platforms and devices, providing a more cohesive and effective advertising strategy.

What You Need to Know:

To reach your customers, your campaign should be optimized for cross-device targeting.

Video Still Gets The Best Engagement

Research suggests that viewers remember 95% of a message when it’s watched over 10% when it’s read. That’s just one statistic that explains why video content remains highly engaging, making video ads a powerful tool in programmatic advertising.

What You Need to Know:

Short, impactful videos (think TikTok, IG Reels, etc.) show a great ROI for programmatic ad campaigns.

Found This Helpful and Want to Get More Updates and Insights

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